Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars

A Tasty Gluten-Free Breakfast Bar

Tired of gnawing on gluten-free toast or slurping down a bowl of gluten-free cereal for breakfast? Me too. I'm in a rut. An almond butter on toast rut. And though I hate to complain (the simple truth is, I adore almond butter with the white hot passion of a thousand suns, so chowing down on it daily does not qualify as drudgery or sacrifice), I used to start my day a little sexier. I used to indulge in these rich and dense Quinoa Breakfast Bars or this orange infused Quinoa Breakfast Cake. Both are beyond delish.

But alas they contain sugar.

And me? I'm still on the sugar-free train. Life just tastes sweeter without added sugar (my taste buds have come alive going sugar-free). After two solid months of strictly all-sugars-free, my one make that two indulgences are an occasional nibble of dark chocolate. The darker the better. And a drizzle of pure maple syrup once in a blue moon, when the mood strikes me.

So I started thinking about a gluten-free breakfast treat using pure maple syrup as the sweetener. And I dreamed up these little beauties studded with dried cherries and yes, a few dark chocolate chips (which you are free to leave out if you prefer). The result is a light and delicately flavored cereal style breakfast bar with the triple proteins of quinoa, hazelnuts, and brown rice. No starches. No xanthan gum. No sugar. No dairy. But Darling, big on taste and texture- due to the pleasant chewiness of hazelnut meal and quinoa flakes.

These delicately flavored breakfast bars have zero xanthan gum. Baking without xanthan gum makes the bars a bit more fragile- but for those of you shunning gums, the happy tummy pay off is worth it, right? Freezing the bars helps bind the texture. Served cold they are really quite tasty.

Add in the eggs, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla and almond extracts, and beat to combine. The batter should be thickish, clumpy and sticky. Add in the almond milk one tablespoon at a time, until the batter becomes smooth.

Add in the dried cherries and dark chocolate chips. Stir to combine.

Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the surface evenly. Place the pan into the center of a pre-heated oven and bake until golden and set - about 20 to 23 minutes until the top and the center are firm. Insert a thin knife to check if you are unsure to make certain the center has baked thoroughly.

Cool on a wire rack. Using a thin sharp knife, cut into squares; wrap them in foil; bag in a freezer storage bag. Freeze. Delicious warm from the oven, or slightly chilled. Great to keep on hand for on-the-go breakfast treats and snacks.

Cook time: 20 minutes

Yield: 15 bars

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

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Notes:

These maple sweetened cereal bars are gently sweet, and they are lovely with coffee or tea.

Instead of almond milk, any non-dairy milk will work. Use a vanilla flavored milk for a touch of extra flavor.

If you prefer using almond flour to hazelnut flour, go ahead Darling. It will work.

If you prefer, leave out the dark chocolate chips and add chopped walnuts instead.

Instead of dried cherries, dried blueberries or chopped dried apricots would be fab.

For egg free, an egg replacer such as Ener-G egg replacer works like a charm.

If xanthan gum is not an issue for you, feel free to add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (or guar gum, as you prefer).

For nut-free, you'll need to experiment with your own whole grain high protein gluten-free flour mix.